Inspiring (and inspiration from) the next generation
Ocean Hyway Cluster is currently supervising 8 Bachelor and 3 Master projects at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL). Find out why we are doing this and how you can get involved below:
Lene Dahl Jacobsen (left), Tone Gregersen Bua og Marte Maria Tømterud carried out a project on a zero-emission tug-boat in autumn – they have chosen to continue working on this project for their Bachelor thesis (Photo: Bård Bøe - Bergens Tidende)
Brainstorming
In the middle of September Ocean Hyway Cluster (OHC) employees Mark Purkis, Steinar Frøyen Kostøl and Trond Strømgren had a meeting to brainstorm possible projects Bachelor and Master projects. They came up with 20 suggestions.
With a central topic of maritime use of hydrogen, the project suggestions covered all aspects: all connected to maritime use of hydrogen. Ship design, life cycle analysis of different hydrogen fuels, social acceptance, mapping of future demand, motor efficiency, comparison of local production and strengthening the network.
8 Bachelor and 3 Master Projects
After careful consideration, the 3rd year students studying Energy Technology at HVL chose 8 out of the 20 suggestions for their Bachelor projects. In January 2021, the students - in groups of up to 3 - began working on their projects. The chosen topics look into:
Energy losses and efficiency in the hydrogen supply chain
Zero-emission tugboats
Mapping of hydrogen demand
Social acceptance of hydrogen
In the start-up phase, the student groups require more help to understand the problem area, but after a couple of meetings, the amount of supervising time required reduces significantly. Up to two hours per week per group for the first two weeks reduces to 15-30 min. per group per week thereafter.
In addition to the Bachelor groups, OHC has other collaborations with HVL, we supervise three Master projects, these are looking into:
Hydrogen from wind power
Social acceptance of hydrogen from wind power
How innovation clusters effect the development of maritime hydrogen technology
Last but not least, OHC will be taking in a placement student from the master’s course “Innovation and Entrepreneurship” beginning in March for 10 weeks.
By 2030 (at the latest) the world heritage fjords will only allow access to zero-emission vessels. Jone Førre (Left) and Håkon Hammer Eikefet (Right) have been exploring different ways of achieving this (Photo: Bård Bøe - Bergens Tidende)
Why is this collaboration important for OHC?
The Western Norway University of Applied Sciences is a cluster member in OHC – helping cluster members achieve their goals is what being part of a cluster is all about.
Velaug Myrseth Oltedal, Assistant Head of Department, Mechanical and Marine Engineering at HVL explains below why close links to industry are crucial for delivering a good education to the students:
“Hydrogen technology is a rapidly developing field. For HVL it is important to collaborate closely with industry actors and clusters, to ensure that the education and training we offer is relevant and updated. We do this by engaging hydrogen experts as guest lecturers, and by having student projects in direct collaboration with companies. Working with real-world, hydrogen related topics provides the students valuable with knowledge and prepares them for the working-life.”
Relevance, Motivation, and Networking
Connecting students directly to the industry is very valuable for the students.
Tone Gregersen Bua and Marte Maria Tømterud are grateful for the close industry connection - the projects have more meaning and give an insight into the issues facing the business community (Photo: Bård Bøe - Bergens Tidende)
“I think it is rewarding to get project input directly from industry because it contributes to a relevant and interesting project problem”, comments Lene Dahl Jacobsen.
This real-world relevance also helps to keep the student’s motivation high:
“…Such projects take a lot of time, and it helps a lot on the motivation to be able to collaborate with professional supervisors to solve real-world problems.…”, says Marte Maria Tømterud.
And finally – the students see benefit beyond the immediate timeline of their projects:
“These tasks are often more exciting and educational, at the same time as they provide an opportunity to create contacts in the business world”, Tone Gregersen Bua finishes with.
In another group, the students: Anders Bøe, Daniel Gullbrå and Tommy Reinertsen, are now working on their 3rd hydrogen related project together. They have looked into decarbonising Svarlbard, as well as supplying Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers (LOHC). They are now comparing the emissions and efficiencies of supplying liquid hydrogen, LOHC, and ammonia as maritime fuels for their bachelor project.
“Writing a thesis with industrial partners is a great way to get a head start on networking, and real-life cases are excellent opportunities to test a student's skills and knowledge”, says Anders Bøe, Daniel Gullbrå and Tommy Reinertsen.
Inspired by the students
On the flipside, we also find that the weekly meetings with students gives us inspiration:
“Students are totally fresh to the topic/industry – they come at the problem with lots of ideas that we (who work in the industry) normally would not even consider. It is inspiring to see them tackle the projects with such enthusiasm”, says Steinar Frøyen Kostøl.
New Knowledge
With several bright young minds working on the project for several months, there is a reasonable chance that the students produce work of real value to the cluster going forward. This however is not guaranteed, the “real world” usefulness of the work is dependent on a specific problem statement in an area of business interest and clear supervision in the early stages of the project to ensure the students set out on the correct track – as well as having a group of students that are well organised and work well as a team.
Do you have a problem question or project idea?
The Western Norway University of Applied Sciences are always on the look-out for project ideas, from short one-semester projects to Bachelor or Master projects.
Velaug Myrseth Oltedal (standing) is the Assistant Head of the Mechanical and Marine Engineering Department at HVL. She teaches the newly created Hydrogen Technology course at HVL and is continuously on the lookout for new project suggestions from industry. (Photo: Bård Bøe - Bergens Tidende)
Suggestions to projects are most welcome at the start of each academic year – August/September. Students will then begin working on them either in the autumn or new year.
Questions?
Feel free to get in touch.
